


Tell Me Something I Don't Know

by Where_is_my_10_15



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Female Character, F/F, Gen, Kara&Carter are my BrOTP, LIbrarian!Kara, Librarian AU, Pansexual Female Character, Reporter!Cat, Side Pairing-Director Danvers, SuperCat Endgame, shipper!Carter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2018-10-23 23:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10729134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Where_is_my_10_15/pseuds/Where_is_my_10_15
Summary: Carter doesn't like the kids on the bus, but Cat won't let him walk home by himself, so he hangs out at the library after school every day until Cat gets off of work and can walk him home. A friendship begins to blossom between Carter and the nice librarian with the blue eyes. You've heard of Shipper Lucy. Get ready for Shipper Carter.





	1. Frogs and Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the things you need to know about this AU:  
> Cat is still a young reporter at some National City newspaper. CatCo does not exist yet. Cat is a humble, wannabe journalist with the heart of a...real journalist.  
> Carter is her 12-year-old son. Adam does not exist.  
> Kara is a part-time librarian, part-time superhero. Originally this was supposed to be a no powers AU but I changed my mind. Whoops.  
> Basically, think of this as essentially the same timeline as the show, with Cat's personal timeline backed up, and Carter a year or two younger. Think of Cat in Kara's position. She probably doesn't make much more than Kara does in the show; she walks to work every day; she still makes grilled cheeses with individually-wrapped slices of American cheese.  
> Enjoy!

**Monday**

"Carter!" Cat's entire work day melted away, and her scowl was replaced with a big smile as she put her purse down on the kitchen counter to give her son a big hug. "How was your first day of school?"  
  
He shrugged. "It was fine. School was fine, and when I got home I cleaned my room and did the laundry. How was work?"  
  
"It was...so-so. I got into a bit of a debate with an editor, but it was mostly resolved." She moved to open the fridge, looking at its contents in indecision. "Did you like all of your teachers?"  
  
"Most of the teachers are fine, but I got Mrs. Robinson for math _again_. She's a huge stickler."  
  
"I see." She took out four slices of American cheese and a tub of butter spread from the fridge and picked up a loaf of bread, turning and shutting the refrigerator with her foot. "Would you like a grilled cheese?"  
  
"Sure Mom, but I can make it." He stood up. "I can make yours too," he added, pulling out his chair. "You should really sit down. You've been on your feet all day."  
  
Cat furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Carter I work in an office. I sit at a desk all day."  
  
"Still, you must be tired. Sit down, sit down. I'll make the grilled cheeses, and then I'll go switch the laundry over."  
  
Cat sat down warily, waiting for someone to pop out of the corner with a camera. "Okay...were the other kids nice?"  
  
Carter took a knife out of a drawer and began buttering the bread as he talked. "They were okay. They were really annoying on the bus, though, especially on the way back from school." He turned around to put a pan on the stovetop, speaking over his shoulder. "I was thinking tomorrow I would just walk home from school," he said casually.  
  
Cat sighed. So _that’s_ what this was about. "Carter, you know how I feel about that. I don't want you walking by yourself, God knows what could happen. I'd pick you up myself if I could but you know I have work."  
  
"I know, Mom, but the other kids-"  
  
"We're they unkind to you? I can talk to their parents."  
  
"No, they're just...loud." He plopped a piece of bread onto the pan with a sigh. "It gets a little overwhelming. It's not that far of a walk, you know. Less than a mile. If you can trust me to take care of myself _and_ my room **_and_** the laundry when I'm home alone, then I don't see why you can't trust me to take care of myself for twenty minutes while I walk home."  
  
"Now Carter, if I have done anything to make you think that you can butter me up by doing chores and then weasel a 'yes' out of me-"  
  
"Fine! I'll ride the stupid bus!" Having put the now-finished sandwich on a plate, he angrily shoved it across the table to her. "Enjoy your sandwich; I'm not hungry." He stormed out of the kitchen and down the hall to his room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
With a shaky sigh, Cat stood to put away the bread and cheese. Carter would come out when he was ready.

 ~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Tuesday**

After discarding her purse and sunglasses on the counter, Cat went into the living room to find Carter sitting cross-legged on the couch with a spiral notebook in his lap, tapping his pencil absentmindedly on the page. He looked up at her, dropping the pencil. “Hey, mom.”

“Hey, Carter,” she said with a smile. “How was school?”

“About the same,” he said with a shrug. “Annoying kids, nice-ish teachers, basic schoolwork. I did have an idea about my bus problem, though.”

“And what might that be?”

He abandoned the notebook along with his textbook on the coffee table, sitting up straight. “Well, you know how the library is right across the street from my school?” At Cat’s nod, he continued. “I was thinking that I could just walk across the street to the library and hang out there until you’re finished with work. I could do my homework there too, and read books and stuff. Then when you get done with work you can go to the library and walk me home,” he finished with a smile, quite pleased with himself.

“I think…that could work,” Cat said slowly. “And hanging out at the library is better than riding the bus?”

Carter nodded emphatically. “Definitely. Everybody _has_ to be quiet in the library, or else they’ll get kicked out. “

“Okay, go to the library tomorrow after school and I’ll go by there on my way home from work. Barring any emergencies, I should be there around 5:15. Sound good?”

Carter gave her a big smile and two thumbs up. “Sounds good.”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Wednesday**

On Wednesday, Carter walked to the library after school as planned. He entered as quietly as possible, breathing in the comforting scent of books and letting it out with a contented sigh. He had been in here a couple of times before, so he had an idea of where he could go to be alone while he did his homework. He went quietly past the front desk, glancing at the woman who sat there. He was met with a cheery smile, a real one that made brilliant blue eyes sparkle at him. “Good afternoon, is there anything I can help you with?”

He smiled back shyly. “No, thank you, I’m sure I can manage,” he said politely, continuing to the back of the small library. He found a small round table surrounded by four chairs and got to work, unzipping his backpack and pulling out his books. He started with his math homework, which he had the most of due to Mrs. Robinson having dictator-like tendencies. Most of it was tolerable, but he got stuck on the next to last problem. He started the problem over and still couldn’t figure it out. If it had been anything other than math, he would have waited until he got home and asked his mom for help, but his mom was, frankly, terrible at math. He was pretty sure he had seen her do 3+5 on a calculator once.

He needed help. He picked up his notebook and began wandering around, not sure exactly who he was looking for until he found her. The librarian with the sparkly eyes. She was facing away from him, standing next to a cart of books and standing on her toes to put one on the top shelf. He was a little in awe of how effortlessly she balanced on the edges of her shoes, so he was caught by surprise when she turned back around to push the cart along and saw him standing there. “Oh, hi! Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked him in a low voice. There was that smile again.

He looked sheepishly down at his notebook, and then back up. “Oh, I was just wondering if…” he coughed. “I got stuck on a problem in my math homework. A-are you any good at math?”

“Oh, sure!” she said, a little too loudly. She realized and lowered her voice. “Do you want to go sit at a table somewhere?”

He glanced at the cart behind her. “I mean, you can finish putting those away first,” he said, even though the number of books would clearly take her a long time to put away.

“No, it’s fine. They just need to be back on the shelves at the end of the day. What can I help you with?”

He nodded in the direction of the table he had been sitting at and she followed him there. He read the problem out loud to her, and then showed her where he got stuck. Kara frowned. “I can see your problem. You’re putting the feet on top in both fractions. You need to-“ she paused, reaching for his pencil. “May I?” He nodded, and she took it, rewriting the problem correctly. “You put the feet on top in the first fraction, which means that in the second one, you should put the inches on top.” She finished rewriting and handed him the pencil. “Try the problem again. The answer should make sense this time.”

He chewed his lower lip as he reworked the problem, looking up at her for approval when he finished. Seemingly sensing his insecurities, she smiled brightly at him. “That’s really good, Carter! You can multiply in your head really fast.”

He shrugged, and his sheepish smile slowly transformed to a frown. “When did I tell you my name?” Okay, so maybe his mom had given him the stranger-danger talk more than a _few_ times.

Kara raised an eyebrow, pointing to the math workbook that lay open on the table. “It’s written at the top of the page,” she said with a chuckle. She held out a hand awkwardly. “I’m Kara.” Carter took the hand, shaking briefly.

“Nice to meet you, Kara. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem,” she said. “Let me see you do the next problem, just to make sure you’ve got it.”

Once again picking up the pencil, Carter wrote out the next problem, finishing pretty quickly now that he understood the method better. “How’s that?”

“Perfect. Is that the last of it?”

“Yeah, that was the last one. Mrs. Robinson really piles on the homework. There’s always that _one_ teacher.”

Kara chuckled lightly. “Tell me something I don’t know,” she sighed. She said it in such an offhanded way that she was a little surprised when Carter looked up at the ceiling as if actually considering the question.

“Hmm…” he thought for a moment. “Before modern refrigeration, people would sometimes keep their milk fresh by putting live frogs in it.”

Kara tilted her head. “Really?”

Carter grinned. “Really.”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

Carter was reading a book he had picked up after completing his homework when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, reading the text from his mom. **_Here. Waiting in Historical Fiction._**

He quickly typed out a response: **_getting my stuff together be there in a sec._**

Receiving a thumbs up emoji in response, he shoved his books into his bag and stood. He weaved in and out through rows of bookshelves until he found Cat waiting patiently. “Hey, how was school?”

“It was good. How was work?”

“Oh, you know…” she trailed off. “Tolerable.”

He nodded in understanding, moving to the door. Cat followed him, and they passed the front desk where Kara was, once again, on duty. She smiled and waved enthusiastically at him. “Bye Carter!”

He waved back. “Bye Kara! Thank you again for your help!”

“It was absolutely no problem,” she assured him.

When they were out of the library and on their way home, Cat turned to Carter. “Who was that?” she asked, jerking her head towards the library, where they could still see Kara through the large glass windows.

“Oh, that was Kara. She helped me with my math homework. I was using unit multipliers to convert feet to inches, but I had the feet on top in the second fraction instead of on the bottom. She helped me fix it. She was really nice.”

Cat nodded, as if any of that had made sense to her except the last part. She didn’t say anything for fear of revealing her complete lack of mathematical knowledge.

“Thanks for picking me up,” Carter said, when the silence became too heavy. “I hope it wasn’t too out of the way.”

Cat waved her hand dismissively. “It was no trouble. Actually,” she paused and looked back at the library sign, “I think this is a quicker way home. I think I’ll start walking _to_ work the same way.”


	2. Fruits, Veggies, and Travel Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While a friendship grows between Kara and Carter, Cat runs into her son's new friend on the way to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2 after only a day! (don't get used to it, my updates are usually sporadic.) I want to thank everybody who has left kudos, and especially those of you who took time to write out a comment. Each and every one has made me smile.  
> Enjoy!

**Thursday**

Carter had to admit to himself that he was a little disappointed when Kara wasn’t the first person he saw as he entered the library on Thursday. In her place was a brown haired man who didn’t look quite as pretty in his cardigan as Kara did in hers, and who didn’t say hi to Carter when he walked by.

Carter didn’t go immediately to his table from the day before; instead he wandered around the library, pretending to look for a book when he was really looking for something else entirely. Resigned to the fact that Kara was not at the library that day, he began the trek back to the round table and chairs. He knew it didn’t make much sense for him to be this disappointed, but he still looked down at his feet the whole way. That was why he wasn’t watching where he was going and bumped into something.

No.

Some _one_. A someone with kind eyes. “Hey, Carter! Sorry about that!”

“Nah, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he said.

“You okay?” she asked, even though the earlier disappointment on his face was quickly morphing into delight.

“Yeah, I just…was looking for you.”

Kara looked down at her hands, which were twisting together nervously. “Yeah, sorry I had to—there was an emergency. My, um, sister. She fell.”

“Was she okay?” Carter asked, voice filled with apparent concern as he tried to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching up.

“Oh, yeah she was fine. She just wanted me there to…bring her lunch.”

Carter nodded. “Food makes everything better,” he said in a serious tone.

Kara smiled mischievously. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Carter grinned right back, wondering if this was going to be a thing. “Although botanically known to be a fruit, a tomato is _legally_ a vegetable.”

“And why is that?” Kara asked, intrigued.

“As with many other things, it boils down to money,” Carter explained. “It has to do with taxes that the government does and does not place on fruits and vegetables.”

It was definitely a thing.

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**About a week later, give or take. Tuesday? Yeah, Tuesday.**

Kara was running late to work, which was why she was just unlocking the door when Cat walked by. She looked up briefly, doing a double-take when she realized who it was. “Oh!” she blurted, causing Cat to pause in her brisk strides and take her sunglasses off to eye her with curiosity.

“Yes?”

Kara shifted under Cat’s scrutiny. “You-you’re Carter’s mom,” she stuttered. She held out a hand. “I’m Kara.”

Cat smiled lightly, accepting the handshake. “Right, the nice librarian. Cat Grant.”

Kara pulled her hand away from Cat’s _really_ soft one, laughing nervously. “Is that what Carter said?”

Cat hummed in response. “Thank you for helping him. I am, quite frankly, worthless when it comes to math.”

Kara shrugged. “We all have our skills. I enjoy hanging out with him.”

“I can relate,” Cat said. “I cherish our walks home together, and picking him up here made me realize that this is actually a better route than the one I used to take.”

“He’s pretty great,” Kara concurred.

“Tell me something I _don’t_ know,” Cat replied, continuing on her walk as Kara broke into a coughing fit behind her.

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Still Tuesday**

Carter was maybe a little more excited than necessary when he entered the library on Tuesday at what was quickly becoming his favorite time, but it had been three days and he missed his new friend. They were getting into a routine with this. Carter would come to the library, tell Kara some fun fact he had learned at school, in a book, or on the internet, and go to the back to do his homework. If he needed any help, he would find Kara and she would go over it with him. Sometimes he couldn’t find her, and he would skip over the problem until she returned, making up an excuse that he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe, but he would accept it. He thought of the day before when Kara had told him she had to pick up her mother’s cat from the vet, and smiled, remembering how he had learned from their talks that her mother lived in Midvale. His smile only grew when he saw Kara was at the front desk. “Hey, Kara!”

Kara returned his smile and wave. “Hey, Carter. Tell me something I don’t know.”

He leaned in to the counter, and Kara took the cue from him, leaning in so he could whisper in her ear. “It’s not the fastest way to work,” he murmured.

“I…wha-?”

Carter held up a hand, silencing her with the special Grant superpower. “Wait,” he said, unzipping his backpack and pulling something out. It was a map he had printed out of National City. “Look here,” he said, placing his finger on a place he had circled in red marker. “This is where my mom works. The National City Tribune.” He moved his hand over to a place with a blue X drawn over it. “This is where I live.” He moved his hand one more time, to a green star. “And this is the library. As you can see, the fastest way to my mom’s work is down 13th street. By taking this turn and going by the library, she adds about five minutes to her walk.” He continued to study the map for a moment, nodding to himself.

Kara could see that he was right, but tried to dismiss it. “I think your mother just likes to take the scenic route.”

Carter looked up from the map at her and smiled. “That’s what I think too,” he agreed, swinging his pack over his shoulders and walking away, whistling to himself. Kara didn’t think it was an accident that he left the map behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all. Until next time!


	3. Redheads and Redbull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I dunno man, Carter meets Winn. They talk. Stuff happens. Just read the chapter, kay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you not to get used to it. Also I upped Carter's age from 12 to 13, so that Winn's social media line would make sense. I don't think Cat is the type of parent who would let her kid ignore those rules, but idk. Also if you're wondering, Cat's boss is named Amos Williams and has a fierce southern drawl.  
> Enjoy!

**Wednesday**

Today was another day when Kara wasn’t at her post to greet Carter after school, so he decided to gather up his courage and talk to spiffy-hair man. He tentatively approached the desk, and spiffy-hair tapped something on his phone and looked up at him with a huge smile. God, were all librarians literal puppies?

Carter held up his hand in a small half-wave. “Hey, I’m Carter.”

Spiffy-hair half-waved back. “I’m Winn,” he said. “Kara talks about you a lot.”

Carter nodded, and looked around. “Yeah, um, where _is_ Kara?”

“Oh, she went to get us a snack,” he replied. The last word sounded a little swallowed, like he realized as it came out of his mouth that it wasn’t the right word to say, but he didn’t correct himself. “She shouldn’t be too long,” he added, looking down at his phone again.

Carter leaned forward. “Whatcha got there?” he asked.

Winn turned his phone around so that Carter could see the video playing with no sound. He gasped, leaning in further to take an even closer look. “Supergirl!” He breathed.

“I like to keep up with the Girl of Steel,” Winn explained, “so I get notifications every time she’s mentioned in the news. This right here is a live feed from the Tribune’s official Facebook page,” he finished, pressing pause on the video.

“That’s so cool!” Carter gushed. “You think you could do that on my phone?”

“Uh, yeah, I should be able to. Do you have your phone with you?”

Carter eagerly dug the phone out of his pocket and handed it to Winn. “Okay, so I’m gonna have to download the app I made onto here,” Winn explained, “but it won’t cost money or anything. Let me just…Jesus, you have a lot of apps open. Do you know how much battery life you’re losing?”

Carter shrugged sheepishly. “I never remember to close them out.”

“Okay, there’s a parental lock on here, so I’ll have to get your mom to-“

“5-6-2-6.”

“Or that.”

They chatted about Supergirl while they waited for the app to download. “Yeah, her fight with Reactron was definitely my favorite,” Winn was saying when it finished. “Cause he was all like blasty! blasty! and she was-“

“Winn.”

“-like wam pam pow! and then she totally upside-down-body-slammed him…”

“Winn.”

“…and he was like katram! and then he’s like mega-ray blast and she’s like nah son and held him off until he got close enough for her to RIP the-“

“ _WINN.”_

Winn stopped his enthusiastic hand motions and looked up at Carter. “Yes?”

Carter gestured to the phone screen. “It’s done.”

“Oh, right. I gotta sync the app with all your social media accounts…Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. You have a lot of them.”

“My mom put them all on there so I could follow the Tribune. I also have the Tribune app.”

“Syncing…and there you go.” He handed the phone back to Carter. “You’ll get a ping every time something major happens.”

“Thanks!”

“Hey, Carter,” came the voice behind him. He whipped around.

“Hey, Kara!” He barreled into her, throwing his arms around her.

She held up her Noonan’s bag out of the way and settled her other arm around him comfortably. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

He pulled away from the hug to say, “The ancient Greeks believed that redheads turned into vampires after death.”

“Did they really?”

Winn appeared behind Carter, pointing to the paper bag. “Whatcha got there?”

“Sticky buns.” She pulled one out and held it temptingly out to Carter. “Want one?”

“Uh, are you supposed to have food in the library?”

Kara glanced at Winn and back at Carter, holding a finger over her lips. “Shhhh.”

Carter nodded solemnly and accepted the sticky bun wrapped in a napkin. He slowly began picking it apart, tearing off pieces and putting them in his mouth. Taking the bag from Kara, Winn reached in and pulled out a fork and knife, putting his sticky bun on the desk and cutting it into pieces. Kara looked between Winn and Carter and then at her own snack, and promptly inhaled it.

Kara went behind the desk. “Winn do you want to work in the back? I can take over checkout duty.”

Winn shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. People don’t really start showing up until closer to 4:30.”

Carter threw his balled-up napkin into the trash can behind the desk. “Well, I’m gonna head to my spot. Talk to you later, Kara.”

“Bye Carter,” she replied.

He turned to go before remembering something and turning back. “Oh, yeah, and I think my mom might be a little later today. She’s been really busy at work lately. Her boss is totally hounding all of them to get an exclusive with Supergirl before ‘those pigs at the Daily Planet’ beat them to it. She’s kind of nervous ‘cause a lot of people have been losing their jobs.”

Kara gave him a sympathetic smile. “Well, I’m sure things will get better.” If Carter noticed the knowing glance at Winn, he didn’t comment on it. “Maybe your mom will get lucky.”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Thursday**

Cat wasn’t as eager as usual walking to work on Thursday. Not that she was one of those energized bunnies who walked to work with a bounce in their step, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed before the morning caffeine even had the time to work itself into their system. But she was used to having a certain air of confidence and contentment in her stride that was somewhat lacking today. Needing to do something with her hands, she pulled out her phone and hesitated for only a second before calling one of her sources.

“…Hi, Cat Grant speaking. Listen, I know you said you would call me back…Yes, it’s only been a day, but many things can happen in a day…Well, have you found anything?....Have you contacted Jimmy Olsen?” Cat paused abruptly in her walk. “On second thought, I don’t think that will be necessary. I have to go….Okay, okay, I’ll call you back. I have to go.”

She hung up and turned to her side, looking into the alleyway with a hand on her hip. Her open-mouth expression of surprise lingered for half a second before settling into a satisfied smirk. “It’s you,” she said simply. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she corrected, taking a few steps into the dark cavity, “I meant to say who are you?”

The woman floating before her gave an incredulous half-laugh. “According to you people, I’m Supergirl.”

“My contribution, not that anyone knows or cares.”

“You have questions,” Supergirl stated. She took a breath, preparing herself for—something. “I’m ready to answer them.”

“Huh.” Cat reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “Do you mind if I record this?”

Supergirl looked away for a second, and then back at Cat, like she felt intimidated. As if the super-powered alien woman should be the intimidated one. “I suppose not,” she replied, a little reluctantly.

“Okay,” Cat said, pulling up her audio recorder. “Supergirl.” She pressed **record** and got straight to the point. “Let’s start with the generals, where are you from?”

“I traveled to Earth from my home planet of-“

“Krypton.”

“Yes. When it was destroyed. My parents sent me here where they thought I’d be safe.”

Cat let out a sigh, doing that pretend-bored thing to encourage more interesting information. Oldest trick in the book. “I feel like I’ve heard this story before.”

“This is _my_ story,” Supergirl argued, flying around to the other side of Cat and forcing her to turn around and advance on her.

Cat could see that this was a game of seeing how intimidated she may or may not be by the hero, and she wasn’t backing down. “So, I can assume that all your powers are the same as the Man of Steel’s? The flying, the super strength, the freezy-breath thing?”

“I’m…still working on that last one,” she replied with a nod.

“ _Oh,_ so you’re not up to his level yet,” Cat suggested.

Without hesitation, Supergirl blasted a spot on the ground a few feet from Cat with her heat vision. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“So why are we just hearing from you now?”

Supergirl flew behind her again, facing the wall at the back of the alley with her fists on her hips. “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

“Well, if you’ve been on earth for years, why wait this long to start giving back? Where were you during the earthquake two years ago, or the wildfires last September that killed eight people?”

“This is not a job I take lightly,” Supergirl replied without hesitation. “I had to be ready.”

“Any plans to start a family?”

Supergirl whirled around. “Nobody ever asks my cousin these questions,” she said, immediately realizing her defeat. Her eyes widened just a touch, and Cat knew the tell-tales signs of ‘I just made a mistake.’

“Superman is your cousin?” She repeated, allowing herself a hint of a grin.

“This interview is over,” Supergirl responded, bending her knees and leaping into the sky.

“But what do you _do_ ,” Cat called after her, “all day when you’re not flying around town? Do you have a day job?”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

Cat waltzed off of the public elevator, removing the Kleenex she held in front of her mouth with a contented sigh. If she were the type who hummed, she would be humming when she arrived at her desk, not surprised in the slightest to see her boss there waiting for her.

“What in tarnation is the meaning of this?” he demanded. “I sure as hell hope you have an excuse worth my time for being twenty minutes late, else you can clean out your desk.”

Cat hung her purse on the back of her chair and set her latte on her desk before responding. “I have a perfectly good reason,” she said, “right here on my phone.” She sighed, like it was such an inconvenience to have to explain everything. “I got an interview with Supergirl,” she said slowly, like the 6-and-a-half foot man towering over her was a mere child.

“I don’t believe it. You got a sit-down with Supergirl?”

“I never said we sat down,” Cat scoffed. “I stood. She…hovered. I was on my way to work, she was waiting in a dark alley for me, it was all very interesting. I have the whole thing on my phone.”

“I’ll take that,” he tried, but it was a weak effort.

“ _I_ will be writing this article,” Cat said firmly. “It only makes perfect sense.”

Amos struggled for a minute, before saying, in a futile effort to regain some control, “Have that on my desk by the end of the day.”

Cat nodded curtly. She waited until he was at the end of the hall before pulling the Redbull out of her purse.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all. Until next time!


	4. Big News and Lipstick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carter invites Kara to his orchestra performance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry it's been such a long time. I've been busy like you wouldn't believe. But anyway, here is chapter four.  
> Enjoy!

**Friday**

“Hey, buddy. Tell me something I don’t know,” said Kara out of routine as soon as she saw Carter come in.

“My mom…” he waited until he was close enough to whisper, “My mom got an interview with _Supergirl!_ ”

“What?!” Kara whisper-yelled. “That’s so cool! See, I told you not to worry about it. How did your mom find her?”

Carter shrugged. “Girl knows a good reporter when she sees one. She flew right to her.”

“That’s great, Carter.”

“Hold on,” he replied, looking something up on his phone. After a minute he showed Kara the screen, and her eyes widened at the headline displayed:

**Breaking: Supergirl and Superman are cousins!**

“Officially, the article is out later today, but my mom always tries to get me a sneak peek when she can.”

“That’s-She…she’s telling everyone that Supergirl and Superman are cousins. Do-do you think maybe she kinda wanted that on the…on the down-low?” She stammered out.

Carter looked at her a little funny. “My mother does not _do_ down-low. You clearly don’t know her well enough.”

“I guess not,” Kara replied with a helpless shrug.

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Monday**

Carter raced to the library on Monday, the flyer waving in his hands. Forgetting himself, he almost yelled for Kara as soon as he was inside, but the eerie quietness of the space reminded him. He ran up to the front desk. “Hey, Kara!” he whispered.

She looked up at him. “Hey, Carter. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I’m playing the double bass in my orchestra performance tomorrow and we’re supposed to invite all our friends!” He thrust the yellow piece of paper out to her. “I would really love for you to come if you’re not busy tomorrow.”

Kara accepted the flyer, looking over the details. “That’s great! I would love to come. Can I bring my sister? I’ve told her all about you and she really wants to meet you.”

“Yes, yes yes! Bring everyone you know!”

“Well, I’ll definitely be there,” Kara said with a warm smile. “What should I wear?”

“Hmm.” Carter thought for a minute. “Dressy. Not like Red Carpet dressy, but like brunch with your judgy Grandma dressy. Does that make sense?”

“I understand completely,” Kara said with a nod, tucking the flyer into her purse. “I’ll see you tomorrow at 6:30.”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Tuesday Night**

“Come _on,_ Kara,” Alex whined. “Do you _want_ to be late?”

“I just can’t find my shoes. You know the silvery ones with the wedges?”

“For God’s sake, what’s the point of x-ray vision anyway?”

A gasp.

A crash.

A shout of “That’s brilliant!”

And Kara emerged from the closet, silvery wedges in hand.

Alex rolled her eyes. “What did you knock over?”

Kara dropped the shoes on the floor, stepping into them. “Just like, my shoe shelf.”

Kara grabbed her clutch, saying, “Okay. Ready.”

“Finally!” exclaimed Alex, walking into the living room. “Lucy’s waiting in the ca—“

“Wait! I forgot Carter’s gift!” Kara called, already zipping back to her bedroom.

Three more blasts of super-speed later, they were walking to the car.

“What took you so long?” Lucy groaned when they opened the door.

“I had to grab a couple things—“

“Kara forgot she’s an alien with literal superpowers.”

Alex started the engine, and Lucy shook her head. “Again?”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

Kara climbed out of the car, her superpowers doing nothing to help the fact that Lucy was much more graceful. “I’ll park the car,” Alex offered.

“Good luck,” said Kara. “It’s kind of crowded.”

“Gee, if only we had come earlier,” Alex said loudly. Kara stuck her tongue out at her.

Lucy chuckled. “Real mature.”

Kara held out an arm for Lucy to take. “Chivalry is not yet dead.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, but accepted, glancing at her watch. “We’ve got six minutes before this thing starts. I hope Alex is fast.”

“The teacher usually says a few words at the beginning,” Kara said, lowering her voice as they approached the auditorium door. “I went to enough of these as a kid to know what it’s like.”

“You were in orchestra?”

Kara shook her head conspiratorially. “Alex. Eliza forced her to play the bassoon for years. She _hated_ it.”

“That is so going to be useful blackmailing information later on,” said Lucy. She looked around the auditorium. “Okay, where are we sitting? We need three seats.”

Kara looked around with her superior vision, spotting three empty chairs near the front. “There,” she said, pointing. “Oh, that’s where Cat’s sitting. She saved us seats!”

“Lead the way. I’ll text Alex where we are.”

Kara grabbed Lucy’s hand to pull her along and they shimmed their way down the aisle, scooting past a few people to get to the spots Cat had saved them. Spotting them, she stood up.

“Cat, Hi,” said Kara with a smile.

“Kara, nice to see you again.” She glanced down at Kara and Lucy’s hands, which were still linked together. “And this must be your girlfriend,” she added with a smile at Lucy.

Lucy’s hand left Kara’s and they shared a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Lucy composed herself first, of course. “Sorry, no. I’m actually Alex’s girlfriend.”

“Alex is my sister,” Kara explained, still blushing. “She went to park the car.”

Cat nodded, understanding their fit of laughter, and felt a wave of relief. The relief was because she was worried at first about the fact that they were laughing at her and now she realized her mistake. That was why she let out the breath she had been unknowingly holding. There was, after all, no other reason for her to feel relieved. Obviously.

“Thanks for saving the seats,” Kara said, waving an arm over the three spaces.

“You should thank Carter,” Cat replied. “He told me you were bringing two guests, instructed me to save seats in case you came late, and then spent a day and a half wondering who the third party would be.”

“Oh, well we meant to come sooner-“

“Kara made us late,” Lucy finished for her. “Isn’t that right, dear?” she asked, without turning around.

“I don’t know how you do that,” said Alex, coming up behind them.

“I have superhearing,” Lucy retorted. Kara coughed, evidently choking on air.

“We should sit down,” said Alex. “It’s getting close.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Kara agreed.

Cat nodded and they sat. True to Alex’s word, the orchestra teacher, a woman in a black shirt and pants with red hair, came on stage not two minutes later. She stepped up to the microphone, pushing up on the power switch.

“Hello, everybody, and welcome to our first orchestra performance of the season. My name is Gina Moody, and this is my class. I am so very proud of all of these wonderful students, and I hope you all are as well. If you look in your programs, there is a list of all the students…”

“Dang, I didn’t get programs,” Kara whispered.

“Honestly,” said Alex, “you’re completely hopeless.” She pulled two out of her purse, handing them to Lucy and Kara, who murmured their thanks and turned their attention back to Miss Moody.

“Now without further ado, please give it up for these talented young people!”

The audience clapped politely as the students filed in.

“Ask Kara which one is Carter,” Alex whispered to Lucy.

Lucy nudged Kara with her elbow. “Which one’s Carter?”

“The one in the back on the far right with the curly brown hair.”

Lucy repeated this information back to Alex.

Kara looked up from her program at Cat. “I didn’t realize Carter was first chair. Good for him.”

Cat didn’t use words, but the smile on her face said it all.

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

When the class finished their last song, the crowd erupted into applause. Cat and Kara were both up on their feet in no time, and the majority of the audience soon followed. When the curtain closed, people began filing out, and the four of them followed along until they got to the double doors in the back of the auditorium. Kara was ready to go out along with the crowd when Cat stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I told Carter to meet us in the back,” she said. “He’ll come looking for us here.”

Kara nodded. Cat didn’t move her arm. “I cannot wait to meet this kid,” said Alex. “Kara just goes on and _on…_ ” she trailed off.

“Oh, so does Carter,” said Cat. “Kara’s the only person to help him with math. I’m hopeless.”

“Are you guys talking about me?” Carter’s voice rang out behind them and they turned around. He went to Cat first and gave her a big bear hug, and the turned around to give Kara the same treatment.

She ruffled his hair playfully. “Only talking about how good you were.” She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him around to face Alex. “This is my sister, Alex.” She turned him again, this time toward Lucy. “And her girlfriend, Lucy.”

He held out a hand to Lucy and kept his eyes locked on it, mumbling a “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she replied, with a smile he didn’t see.

He turned to Alex only to see her hand out for a fistbump, which he returned with a shy smile. “Hi, Alex.”

“Hey, Carter. Tell me something I don’t know,” she said.

Carter looked up at her, smiling. “If you stretched the DNA in one cell all the way out, it would be about six and a half feet long.”

“Actually, uh…” Alex sent a panicked look at Kara. “I did know that. I majored in biochemistry, so…DNA is kinda my thing.”

Carter opened his mouth to respond, and then he shut it, looking down. “Give me a minute,” he said, clearly frustrated. Lucy raised an amused eyebrow at Alex. They could practically hear the wheels turning. After a moment he looked back up again, staring Alex straight in the eye. “The average woman uses her height in lipstick every five years,” he said. Glancing at Cat, he leaned up to Alex, fake whispering loud enough for everyone to hear. “It probably only takes my mom _one_ year, though.”

They all shared a laugh at that. “It probably takes my sister _ten_ ,” said Kara.

Carter looked at her when she said that, and then back at Alex. “Why don’t you look alike?”

“Carter!” chided Cat.

“No, it’s fine,” Kara promised. “Alex is my foster sister,” she explained. “The Danvers took me in after my parents died when I was thirteen.”

Carter stood with his mouth open and there was a long moment of silence aside from the hustle and bustle of the other parents and friends in the room talking to their kids. Carter tried to find the right words, eventually settling on “Oh.”

It was Lucy that saved the day. “Kara, don’t you have something for Carter?”

Kara jumped—actually _jumped_ —and turned to Alex. “I put it in your purse.”

Alex nodded and reached into it, pulling out what looked like a brightly decorated manila folder. She handed it to Kara who, in turn, handed it to Carter. Carter accepted the package and eagerly slid his finger under one end of the flap, sliding it down until he could get his hands inside.

Okay, so that’s a lie. He tried to get his finger underneath, but failed miserably. He handed the folder to his mother. Cat held out one perfectly manicured nail and slid it underneath, peeling it up just a little. She then took all her frustrations out on the orange flap until it was well and truly destroyed, and handed the whole thing back to Carter, quite pleased with herself.

With bated breath, Carter held the sheet of paper inside with two fingers and slid it out for all of them to see. Carter took one look at it and started laughing. He couldn’t stop. Lucy felt in the dark about something, like everyone else was in on it. She shot a confused look at Kara. Cat gasped when she saw it, simply in awe of the detail in the drawing. Alex stared. “What the f-“ Cat shot her a death glare, and Kara’s eyes widened to the size of Krypton. “fffrogs?” she finished.

Lucy relaxed. So she wasn’t the only one, then. “Um, are those bullfrogs? In a bowl of…”

“In a bowl…of milk,” Carter finished, between fits of laughter.

“Is somebody going to explain, or are we just going to be left out?” asked Alex.

“So the first time me and Carter met, he said something about school and I said, totally casual, ‘tell me something I don’t know.’”

“So _I_ told her this fact I saw on Facebook. Before modern refrigeration, people would sometimes keep their milk fresh by putting live frogs in it.”

“And then it became a thing,” Kara added. “Anyway,” she turned to Carter, “I wanted to bring you something, and you had mentioned that you don’t like flowers, so…” she gestured to the drawing as a way of finishing her sentence.

“Thank you,” said Carter. “This is really cool.”

“The drawing itself is amazing,” Cat agreed. “Where did you learn to draw?”

“Oh, mostly self-taught. Well, my mom started to teach me, and then…I uh, used the internet and stuff.”

Carter handed the paper to Cat so she could get a closer look. “Excellent,” she said.

Kara pressed her lips together in a shy smile. “Thank you.

Cat quickly stepped out of the way of a couple trying to get out the door. “You know, we should probably go,” she said. “It’s already getting pretty dark, and it’s a twenty minute walk.”

“We can give you a ride!” Kara said quickly. “We have plenty of room. Alex has a van.”

“It’s what I use to hide the bodies,” Alex said, by way of explanation.

“I mean, if it’s no trouble…” Cat looked doubtful.

“C’mon, can’t we Mom?” Carter begged.

“It’s not a problem at all,” said Alex.

“Alright,” she relented. “I guess I’ll just have to find a way to thank you.” For some reason, she looked at Kara when she said that.

“Alex parked the car,” said Lucy, tapping her girlfriend on the shoulder. “Lead the way.”

“How long have you been playing the bass?” Kara asked Carter when they got outside.

“Two years,” Carter answered. “I started in 4th grade.

“Do you know what I said to him when he started?” asked Cat. Kara shook her head. “On the first day of orchestra,” said Cat, “I told him, ‘don’t come home with the biggest instrument!’ He comes home, I say ‘how was orchestra?’ ‘It was good.’ ‘What instrument did you pick?’” Cat looked down sheepishly, mimicking Carter. “’The double bass.’ So he looks it up and shows me a picture of it. I said ‘honey, that’s the biggest instrument, isn’t it?’ I swear to God, he’s in fourth grade, this thing is twice as tall as him. I said ‘You had one job!’”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Carter argued. “It called to me. It was like…like the lightsaber calling to Rey in _The Force Awakens_.”

“Hey! Bonus points for the _Star Wars_ reference,” Alex said, giving Carter a high five. She slowed her pace as they approached her van. “This is my car,” she said, digging her keys out of her pocket. “Sorry I had to park so far away. _Someone_ made us later than expected.”

“I couldn’t help it!” Kara said, holding her hands up in defense. “My hair wasn’t cooperating, I couldn’t find my shoes, and the stupid zipper on this dress was just asking for trouble,” she said, counting inconveniences on her fingers. “Someone’s going to have to get me out of this thing.”

“If you insist,” Cat said quietly. Kara pretended she didn’t hear anything, but the shade of her cheeks suggested otherwise.

“Okay, who’s sitting where?” asked Lucy. Alex had unlocked the car, and by now they were just standing aimlessly in the parking lot.

“Can I sit in the front?” begged Carter. If Cat thought it was a little out of character for him, she didn’t mention it.

Alex replied in the affirmative, leaving the three middle seats for Kara, Cat, and Lucy. “Sorry for all the stuff in the backseat,” said Alex. “You’re just gonna have to cram in.”

“It’s cool,” Lucy assured her. “I can sit in the middle. I’m the smallest.”

“No, but Mom’s got shorter legs,” Carter argued. “She should take the middle.”

Lucy furrowed her brow. “Oookay,” she said slowly, going around the car to slide in on the other side. Kara opened her door and gestured dramatically for Cat to enter. Cat raised an amused eyebrow and scooted in, followed by Kara. Kara shut the door, which required her to scoot in further. She tried to ignore the feeling of her leg pressed up against Cat’s. Cat tried to ignore the fact that their close proximity meant she could smell Kara’s perfume. It smelled really nice, if you were wondering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I didn't proofread this as thoroughly as usual, so if you found mistakes or anything that doesn't make sense, please let me know. Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all. Until next time!


	5. Pillows, Prizes, and *insert something relevant that starts with a P*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat is nominated for an award and needs a babysitter for Carter. Enter the Girl of Steel...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus Christ it's been a long time. I'm so sorry you guys. Season two of Supergirl just came on Netflix, so I've been spending all of my free time watching that for the past week. I've finished it , so maybe these will come a little quicker now. I make no promises. If you want, you can skip ahead to the chapter now. Continue reading if you are interested in my thoughts on the season. Spoiler alert, obviously.
> 
> Overall, the season is a yes from me. Guardian is a resounding No. He's so annoying. I'm tired of his bullshit. It's just so unnecessary and extra. 
> 
> Sanvers is a Hell yes, although I do think that they're going to need to call off the engagement. The proposal was superduper cute, but imo, it's a little too soon for that. I really think that after the excitement has worn off (If Maggie even said yes), Maggie will have doubts and I don't think that anyone should get married if they're not totally sure. My sister brings up the point that they could have a really long engagement period, which...might could work. I really want Hank to walk Alex down the aisle, please and thanks. 
> 
> Which brings up M'gann/J'onn. GOD YES. They are so precious. I literally cannot put into words how hard I ship this. 
> 
> Mon-El...I like him as a person by the end, but I never really shipped it. It just bothered me that he fell out of the sky and existed solely for the purpose of being her boyfriend. There were also times that I feel like she let him off too easily for doing shitty things. 
> 
> Lena Luthor is amazing. She and Kara are BrOTP. 
> 
> Lillian Luthor can suck my dick. 
> 
> The reunion between Eliza and Jeremiah was the most precious thing I have ever seen, and while I don't know if I can ship it after everything that's happened, even if he gets redeemed, there is one thing I would like to point out:  
> If you watch the scene in "Homecoming" where everyone is together and making dinner and stuff up until the serious convo where Eliza's like "we've both changed so much," you will notice that every time Eliza looks at Jeremiah, she smiles just a little more.
> 
> I am extremely upset with the fact that Lucy Lane was not in a single frame of this season. She's a badass and deserves to be treated like one.
> 
> Also, Alex for this entire season was just BAMF'ing the fuck out of everything. The part where she was kidnapped-Amazing.
> 
> Winn and Lyra are the absolute cutest. I love that Winn has moved on from Kara and can be in a happy, healthy relationship while remaining friends with Kara.
> 
> Cat is a Goddess. Everything about her just gives me life. I didn't like that she left (I cried when she left and when she got back) but I like what it did for her as a person and for Kara. I'm glad she's back and I hope she's a series regular in season 3. I also wanna see Carter again.
> 
> Is that everything? I think that's everything. If there's more, I'll put in another note later I guess. Feel free to tell how you feel about all that if anybody actually read that.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Monday**

Today Kara was once again M.I.A. when Carter got off school. He sent a wave in Winn’s direction and headed off to his usual spot. He was halfway through a rough draft of his history assignment when Kara stopped to say hi and ask him the age old question.

“May 29th is officially put a pillow on your fridge day,” he informed her.

Before she could respond, his phone beeped loudly. He flinched at the noise and picked it up off of the table. “Sorry, I thought this thing was on silent,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” she said, pulling a chair up next to him. “Whatcha got?”

“Winn rigged this thing so I get a notification every time Supergirl is mentioned in the news.”

“Did he now?” Kara leaned forward. “So what happened?”

“Umm…two things.” He clicked the first headline. “Supergirl stopped an armed robbery at National City Bank before anyone could be hurt.” He went back and clicked on the second. His mouth fell open. “Oh my God,” he said in an awed whisper.

“What’s up?” asked Kara.

He turned the phone so she could see it more clearly. “My Mom’s exposé on Supergirl was nominated for a BSMU award!”

“What? That’s great!”

“This would be her first award. She has to win.”

“Well, of course she does! When is the ceremony?”

“Umm…” he skimmed through the article. “This Thursday in Metropolis.”

“Well, that’s great,” she said again. “I should really go now, unless you need any help. Winn is kind of tired of my long…breaks.”

“I think I’m good here. Thanks.”

“No problem,” she said, and he returned to his work.

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

Kara didn’t see Carter again until Cat came to pick him up. She was near the back of the library when she picked up Cat’s voice outside.

“I don’t ask for very much,” she was saying. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was such a burden being a grandmother.”

Kara went up to the front desk, trying to look like she was looking for Winn, (‘ _you’ve got to stop making your superpowers so obvious’_ said Alex’s voice in her head) and then changed direction when she “spotted” Cat, who had texted Carter and was waiting for him in the front as per usual.

“Hi, Kara,” she said with a smile, but she looked tired.

“Hi, congratulations! Carter told me about the nomination, that’s huge!”

“I hope not, seeing as I’ll have to find out _if_ I won via television. I won’t be attending the ceremony,” she said, leaning on one hand against the desk.

“What? Why not?”

“I don’t have anyone to watch Carter,” she explained, looking idly at the small stack of books that were laying on the desk. “I don’t know any reliable babysitters, and my mother is living down to my expectations by prioritizing her career over my own.” She looked back at Kara. “Does your mother give a damn about your career?”

“Oh, well, she’s not…really around-“

“Mom!” Carter called out, rushing over to hug Cat. “Congratulations on your nomination!”

She eagerly accepted the warm embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around him. “Thank you, Carter.”

“This is super exciting!” he said. His mom gave him a stern look and he lowered his voice. “You have to win. Have you read the other nominated pieces? They’re nothing compared to yours. Aren’t you excited? Why aren’t you excited?”

Cat smiled sadly at him. “I can’t actually go to the awards ceremony. I don’t have anyone to stay with you—and before you even suggest it, I am not taking you with me. It’s a long enough trip that I’ll have to stay the night, and you are _not_ missing school.”

He frowned thoughtfully. “So grandma…?”

“She really wishes she could, but she’s overwhelmed with work right now.”

“And Dad?”

“He’s been planning his trip this weekend with Sheri for a month and a half.”

“Hmm.” He chewed on his lower lip, thinking. “So you need someone responsible. Someone who knows me well enough. Someone you trust to watch me carefully, do things like…help me with my homework?”

And the lightbulb lit up in Kara’s head. “I could watch Carter overnight,” she said quickly. “If—if you wanted.”

“Kara, that’s a great idea!” said Carter, like it was even her idea.

Cat put a hand on her hip. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

Cat looked at her for a long moment. “Don’t you have plans this weekend?”

Carter crossed his fingers.

Kara shrugged. “Do sweatpants and takeout count as plans?”

“Kara,” said Carter. “My mother would love to have you watch me, but she’s stalling while she tries to find a way to say yes without _actually_ saying yes. The answer is yes, and she will be eternally grateful and ever in your service if you would be so kind-“

“I think that’s enough, Carter.” Cat put a…loving…hand on his shoulder.

“It’s really no problem,” said Kara.

“You can walk home with us on Thursday and stay with him until Friday morning?”

“Sounds good to me,” she said.

“Yeah, me too,” agreed Carter.

“I can trust you to give him the attention he deserves?”

Kara nodded. “He wouldn’t be safer with Supergirl."

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Lucy:  
** _Are you busy this weekend_

**Kara:  
** _Kinda why?_

**Lucy:  
** _Dress shopping this Saturday_

**Kara:  
** _I’m in._ _J_ _What’s the special occasion?_

**Lucy:  
** _My ex’s wedding. Gotta dress to impress_

**Lucy:  
** _What do you have this weekend_

**Kara:  
** _He-who-shall-not-be-named is getting married?!!! Details please!!!_

**Lucy:  
** _He’s marrying his high school sweetheart. Go figure. The important thing is for me to look prettier than she does. But the MORE important thing is whether or not you have a date this weekend. I need details too_

**Kara:  
** _Yes, a date with a 13y/o. XD I’m watching Carter overnight Thursday-Friday so Cat can go to an award ceremony in Metropolis._

**Lucy:  
** _Ooh, so you get to sleep in flirty-mom’s bed and then flirty-mom will owe you a favor? How interesting ;)_

**Kara:  
** _You’re kidding, right?_

**Lucy:  
** _Umm not really? Please tell me you knew she was flirting!_

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Kara:  
** _Was Cat flirting with me at Carter’s orchestra performance?_

**_Alex:  
_ ** _yeah_

**Kara:  
** _Seriously??_

**Alex:  
** _pretty sure. she tried her best not to though._

**Alex:  
** _and Carter totally ships it. like hardcore._

**Kara:  
** _WHY DON’T I KNOW THESE THINGS?_

**Alex:  
** _thing is the ball is in your court now. if you want a move made  you have to make the move._

**Alex:  
** _gtg now. ttyl._

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

**Kara:  
** _Hey can you cover for me if I leave early on Thursay?_

**Winn:  
** _Anything 4 U  how early_

**Kara:  
** _An hour or so. Around 5:15_

**Winn:  
** _U mean the same time carter leaves w/ his mom every day_

**Kara:  
** _Umm…yes? I’m gonna stay with Carter so that Cat can go to Metropolis and (hopefully) receive an award._

**Winn:  
** _Is that a good idea?_

**Kara:  
** _Why wouldn’t it be?_

**Winn:  
** _Doesnt carter kinda have a crush on you? Do U rlly wanna encourage that?_

**Kara:  
** _I really don’t think that’s a problem._

**Winn:  
** _If ur sure_

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**Thursday**

Kara was helping a little boy find _Woof and the Haunted House_ when she heard the quiet creak of the library door. Discreetly, she tilted her head to let her glasses slide down her nose and checked to see that it was indeed Cat at the door. Pushing her glasses back up, she quickly located the section that had books by Dobson and went around the boy, bending over to pull one out. “Here you go,” she said, pushing the book back in. “These are all the Woof books we have.”

“Thanks,” he said quietly, getting down on his knees and tilting his head to sound out the titles.

“No problem,” she said, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. “Do you think you’ll be alright on your own now?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Kara smiled and left him to his books. She let her glasses slide down once again and found Carter on his way to the front, changing her route so that she just happened to meet him halfway there. “Hey, Carter,” she said, and this time she did ruffle his hair. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, totally. Are you?”

She slid her thumbs under the straps of the backpack she had packed and hoisted it a little higher. “Yep.”

He smiled wider. “This is gonna be so much fun,” he said as they passed the front desk. “Bye, Winn.”

Winn waved at them. “Bye Carter. Bye Kara.”

“Bye,” she replied, before turning her attention back to Cat, who stood just inside the door.

“Are we ready?” she asked.

“I believe we are,” said Kara, leaning over to open the door. “Shall we?” she asked, directing Cat and then Carter through the door before following them herself.

Cat pulled her reading glasses off of where they were clipped onto the edge of her shirt and put them on, pulling a small notebook out of her purse. “Everything you’ll need to know about taking care of Carter is in here,” she said, opening it to the first page. Carter, who had likely heard all of this several times whenever his mother had left him with someone else, moved a few paces ahead of Kara and Cat, kicking at the rocks on the sidewalk.

Cat skimmed through the list of important information she had written down. “He needs to be in bed by 10:30, and no TV after 9:00. I’ve got all the phone numbers you could need on here: mine, my mother’s, Alan’s, 911, poison control-“

“Who’s Alan?” Kara asked. Her expert hearing picked up Carter’s sharp intake of breath and suddenly she had a pretty good idea of who Alan was.

“My ex-husband,” Cat said after a mere moment’s pause. “Carter’s father.” She flipped a couple of pages in the notebook. “Carter’s allergic to strawberries, but we don’t ever have them in the house so it shouldn’t be a problem. There’s lasagna in the oven that can be reheated for supper, and cereal and other things for breakfast tomorrow.” Flipping another page, she added, “There’s probably some ice cream in the freezer, but don’t give him too much, and _don’t_ let him eat it on his bed. He has a—well, I guess you can read the rest for yourself,” she said, closing the book and handing it off to Kara.

“Thank you,” said Kara. “I’m sure this will be very helpful.”

Cat nodded, and they walked on in silence, excepting the occasional inquiry from Cat about Carter’s day and vice versa. With nothing more to say Kara turned her attention to her surroundings, watching as the sidewalk grew narrower and the little shops that dotted this particular area in downtown National City were replaced with houses and apartment buildings. She smiled as the signs and advertisements became rosebushes and trees, speckled with red and brown already this early in fall. Eventually she noticed Cat slowing down and slowed her own pace to match as they turned with the sidewalk toward a parking lot. She glanced briefly at a sign that read _Stonecrest Apartments_ as they passed it, and fell behind to follow Cat to the right door. Cat glanced briefly at her phone. “I have to go soon,” she said, opening the door. Carter rushed in, followed by Kara, who uttered a brief “Thank you,” to Cat. Cat walked in, stepping out of her heels, and dropped her purse on the kitchen counter. “I’m sure Carter will give you the grand tour,” she said, her hands fluttering around a bit before settling on her hips. “I can show you where to put your things.”

“Just show me to the guest room,” Kara chirped.

“Oh, we don’t have a guest room,” said Carter.

“You’ll be sleeping in my room,” said Cat. She turned on her heel and left.

“Uh, lead the way,” Kara muttered, feeling her cheeks get warmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I would like to point out that BSMU award stands for BullShit Made-Up award.
> 
> Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all. Until next time


	6. Some Pride and...Suprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Carter have some fun together, and then they watch the awards ceremony...with kind of a twist ending. Remember that this is my own timeline, so I'm kind of having some fun. Just go along with it; it'll be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm not even going to try to excuse myself. There was so much time that I could/should have been working on this, but I've had a very tumultuous summer, so this is what happened. Please enjoy!

“Uh, isn’t it time for you to head out?” Kara asked, hesitantly. She didn’t want Cat to feel like she was being kicked out of her own house, but after Kara left her stuff in her room ( _Cat’s_ room) they had chatted for several minutes and she didn’t want Cat to be late.

Cat glanced up at the clock in the kitchen. “Yes, you’re right. Carter, come here.”

Carter smiled, leaning in for one last hug. “I love you, Mom. We’ll be rooting for you tonight.”

“I love you too,” Cat said, kissing him on the top of his head. “Be sweet to Kara.”

“Mom, you know that _not_ being sweet to her would be, like, impossible, right?”

Cat rolled her eyes, finally releasing him and leaning back to glance at Kara, who at the moment was trying not to intrude on the mother-son moment they were having. “Well, of course, but as your mother I still have to say it.”

“Goodbye, Mom.”

Cat sighed. “It’s only 29 hours.”

“And 14 minutes.”

“And 14 minutes. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, picking up her purse. Kara saw her sunglasses on the counter and handed them to Cat, who took them gratefully and put them on her head. “Goodbye Carter,” she said, hand on the doorknob. “Kara.”

Kara gave her an awkward salute. Cat quirked an eyebrow and opened the door. “See you both tomorrow,” she said, walking through the door and shutting it behind her.

Kara and Carter immediately looked at each other. Kara furrowed her eyebrows. “Uh…”

“Did she just...?” Carter trailed off. “Mom?” he called.

The door opened once again and Cat’s hand reached in, taking her suitcase (which was leaning against the wall) by the handle and pulling it with her. “Not a word, Carter.”

The pair waited until they thought she was out of earshot before bursting into fits of laughter.

Fifteen minutes later, after a snack of goldfish crackers and some grapes, Carter was giving Kara a grand tour of the apartment. “So this is the kitchen, obviously—that’s basically the most important room in the house. And then you have the living room right here,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her into the living room, “and this hallway goes to all the other stuff,” he finished, leading the way into the hallway. “Linen closet. Bathroom. Mom’s room, where we were earlier. And then this is my room,” he said, letting go of Kara’s hand to open the door.

The first thing Kara noticed when she entered the room was his Supergirl pillowcase, which had the House of El crest on it. The second was his huge bookshelf, which almost reached the ceiling and was filled with books.

“It’s kind of a mess,” Carter said, looking at the books, plastic cups, clothes, etc. scattered on the floor.

“You should see my sister’s apartment on a regular basis,” said Kara. “Don’t tell her I said that,” she quickly added.

“I can keep a secret,” Carter said with emphasis.

Something at the bottom of the bookshelf caught Kara’s eye. “Are those photo albums?”

“Oh, yeah. You wanna look at them?”

“I’d love to,” Kara responded eagerly. Carter knelt down to pull them out and they sat on the bed together to look through them.

Carter opened the smallest one to the first page. “Here’s me a day old.”

“Aww!!”

“And this is my first bath…”

“Precious!”

“And here’s some of Mom in the hospital. They made her stay a few days, even though she wanted to be out of there as soon as possible. Mom would kill me if she knew I showed you these.”

Kara chuckled at one that had Cat asleep in bed with a lunch tray hovering over her. “She must have been so tired.”

Carter nodded in agreement, flipping ahead to about a third of the way through the book. “Aww, look, this is my first haircut.”

“You were so blonde!” Kara said with a gasp.

“Yeah, my hair was super light for a long time.”

A few minutes later they had moved on from that album and were looking through a slightly larger one.

“This was my school’s trip to the aquarium in 3rd grade. There’s me. And that’s Ephraim, and Charlotte, and Joshua.”

“Aww, I used to love the aquarium.”

Carter smiled and flipped to the next page.

Kara peered closely at the photo. “Is that you and your Mom…at pride?”

“Yeah, is…” he looked up at her, suddenly a bit indignant. “is that a problem for you?”

Kara’s eyes widened. “What? No! That-that’s not a problem at all. Hold on,” she said, flustered. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she searched in her images for a while until she found what she was looking for. “Check it out,” she said. Carter leaned in to look. “This is me and Alex at Pride 6 months ago,” she said. Her phone displayed herself and Alex with their backs to the camera, showing off the ‘capes’ they were wearing. Alex had a rainbow cape, and Kara’s was pink, blue, and yellow.

“Oh.” Carter relaxed. “I called that,” he whispered to himself.

“Called what?” asked Kara, before realizing it had probably been too quiet for human ears to hear.

Carter had apparently thought that too, because as soon as he realized she had heard it, his mouth fell open. “Oh, um, I had…thought that you were…” he cleared his throat, finding the words. “I had guessed that you were pansexual.”

Kara tilted her head. “For real?

“My gaydar is strong. It’s like how I knew that my mom was bi before she told me. I mean I didn’t _know,_  like, I hadn’t thought about it, but it didn’t surprise me. I think a lot of people have that skill, though. I mean, didn’t you have at least an inkling that Alex was gay?”

“Oh, yeah, totally. I mean, I was pretty sure.”

Carter raised one eyebrow, something he had learned from his mother.

“I was totally clueless,” Kara admitted. “I’m not really very good at that kind of thing.”

“So you didn’t know that my mom was bi?”

“Um, no. That I did not,” she said, fidgeting with her glasses.

“Hmm.” Carter gave her a long look. “I guess I told you something I didn’t know, then,” he said, closing the photo album with a loud clap. “I think it’s almost time for the ceremony, don’t you?”

Kara checked her phone. “We have about 15 minutes.”

“Just enough time to make all the snacks we’ll need,” he said, hopping up off the bed to put the photo albums back where they belonged.

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Ten minutes later Kara and Carter were sitting together on the couch in the living room, armed with ice cream, kettle corn, M&M’s, and positive attitudes. The TV was on, but muted until after the commercial break. “I bet you this bag of M&M’s that Mom wins the award,” said Carter.

“You know, a bet only works if two people have opposing predicted outcomes.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, anyway, she’s got this totally in the bag. I wish this was the kind of thing where people gave speeches. My mom would have a killer speech.”

“Well, her day will come. I’m sure this won’t be the last award she’s nominated for.”

“Got that right,” he agreed.

Soon after that, the ceremony was starting. Carter fidgeted shifted back in place on top of his hands, sitting on them in order to keep them from waving around with excitement and nerves. He searched the crowds for a familiar face every time the camera panned over them, but he didn’t get a glimpse of his mom throughout the first round of awards. He and Kara watched reporters and investigative journalists and photographers accept their awards, all grinning ear-to-ear. A few even teared up, and one twenty-something junior editor just about had a full-on emotional breakdown. It was ridiculous. And none of them were Cat.

When the commercial break came, Carter jumped at the opportunity to go get a glass of chocolate milk (really, he just wanted to stand up and walk around a bit) and was back just in time to see a commercial for a Supergirl baby onesie, complete with a cape and red booties. Kara snorted as soon as the baby came into view, and then couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face when the baby’s father picked her up and “flew” her around. She couldn’t help the giggles either, or her two hands coming up to cover her mouth.

“You alright?” Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Look how cute she is!” Kara exclaimed in lieu of response. She snorted again when the voiceover stated that “The ’S’ is for Superbaby!!!” and then the commercial was over and it was back to the awards ceremony.

“Maybe they’ll do my mom’s award in this one,” said Carter.

“I hope so. Remind me what she was nominated for?”

“Devil’s Advocate; Best Constructive Criticism!” said the awards host from the TV, announcing the next award.

“This one!” said Carter, bouncing up and down.

“The three nominees are: Bridgette Oshinomi, for _It’s in the Numbers,_ a piece on the American Public Education system.” A polite round of applause. “Cat Grant, for _Millenial Falcon,_ the first ever expose on Supergirl.” Polite round of applause. “And Lois Lane, for _No Matter How Small,_ an article about the flaws in the foster care system and what to do about them.”

“Lois Lane?” Carter repeated, as the crowd applauded and the announcer dragged on, building suspense. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know,” Kara said slowly. “Probably a young relative unknown, like your mom.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Carter replied, putting his full attention back into the TV.

“And the award for Devil’s Advocate; Best Constructive Criticism goes to…

 

…Cat Grant!”

Carter’s hands came out from under him and he pumped his fists in the air. “Go mom!”

Kara clapped her hands excitedly as Cat gracefully climbed the steps in a brilliant silver dress and heels so high that Kara felt a little unbalanced on the couch. The perfect recipient, Cat smiled widely, accepted the award, posed for the camera, and returned to her seat. Kara and Carter were probably the only ones who noticed the smile/glare combination directed at a woman sitting a few seats away with her arms crossed.

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“I just _know_ I’ve heard that name somewhere before,” Carter said for the third time as he got into bed that night. “Lois Lane.”

“You know, the more you say that, the more I feel like I’ve heard it too,” Kara mused, sitting down on the end of the bed.

“I think my mom’s mentioned her,” Carter said, more to himself than to Kara.

“I feel like she knows my cousin,” Kara murmured to herself, lost in thought.

“Is she…”

“She couldn’t be…?”

“I think she’s an ex!” They both exclaimed at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...not bad, right? I hope you all are doing well, and that your summer was good. Natclouds, I hope you did well on your exams. I promise-promise that the next chapter will be up in the next month, or my name isn't Where_is_my_10_15!! Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all. Until next time!


	7. Exes and 'O's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cat comes back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was gonna do this yesterday, but then I found out that I had read my syllabus wrong for one of my online classes, and I had a heckton of work that I had to do. Sorry about that. I'm loving all of y'all's comments. Please, enjoy!

**Friday Morning**

Kara groaned when she heard the sound of her phone’s alarm, but she sat up in bed ( _Cat’s_ bed) all the same. Brushing strands of tangled hair out of her face, she turned off her alarm and stood up. Her stomach groaned for breakfast and she wandered into the kitchen ( _Cat’s_ kitchen). Looking through the fridge, she decided, quite ambitiously, to make pancakes. She was just about to pour some batter out of the bowl and onto the stove when she heard Carter’s sleepy voice behind her.

“Good morning,” he said.

Kara looked over her shoulder at him. “Hey, good morning. I was just gonna get you up.”

“I had an alarm set,” Carter replied. “What are you making?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes,” Kara said, going back to pouring.

“Hey, don’t you wanna use a measuring cup or something?”

“Nah, I’m good. I mean…should I?” Kara looked unsure.

“I would,” Carter said. “But that doesn’t mean that you have to,” he added, opening a drawer to pull out a 1/3 measuring cup. “How’s this?”

“Thanks,” Kara said, taking it.

Within a half hour, Kara finished the pancakes (with some assistance from Carter) and they had almost finished eating when Carter’s phone rang. “It’s Mom,” he said, bringing it to his ear. “Hey, Mom, Congratulations!! I knew you would win!...No, that’s fine. I’m sure you were plenty busy…Wait, who? Was it Lois Lane, by any chance?” Covering the phone, he whispered to Kara, “She said she was gonna call last night but an ‘old friend’ took up too much of her time and then she knew I was already in bed. I bet it’s Lois.” He brought the phone back to his ear. “Sorry, Mom, keep talking. Was it Lois?” He grinned at Kara, nodding. “How do you know her?...College, huh?...Were you particularly _good_ friends?...It’s just that I’ve heard you mention her before. It never sounded like you were friends…Oh, okay…Yeah, I understand. See you soon. Bye.”

“Tell her I say hi,” Kara said.

“Oh, and Kara says hi…Okay, I will. Bye,” he finished, ending the call.

“So what did she say?” Kara asked, leaning forward in her chair.

“Well, as soon as I started pushing for info, she suddenly had some _very_ important things to get to and simply had _no_ time to talk any longer.”

Kara nodded. “She’s an ex,” Carter said.

“Tell me something I _don’t_ know.”

Carter shrugged. “’O’ was the 15th letter of the Roman alphabet.”

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**Friday Afternoon/Evening**

Kara was at the front of the library when Cat showed up, looking more than a little annoyed. “Hey, Cat!” Kara whisper-yelled, rushing to greet her, stopping _just_ short of giving her a hug. “Congratulations on your award! How was your flight?”

Cat shrugged. “As annoyingly slow as expected. How was Carter?” she asked, looking over Kara’s shoulders for him.

“He’s an angel. He should be in the back somewhere.”

“Honestly Kara, I can _not_ thank you enough for staying with him. I owe you big-time.”

Kara shook her head. “Don’t be silly; it was nothing.” Reconsidering, she said, “Of course, if you _really_ want to repay me, you could always go to lunch with me tomorrow.”

“Sounds wonderful. My lunch break is at 12:00.”

“That’s perfect!”

“What’s perfect?” Carter chimed in, appearing behind Kara. Cat immediately went around Kara to pull Carter into tight hug. “Hey, Mom,” he said, voice muffled from speaking into her chest.

Cat released him, her already-warm smile now a hundred times brighter. “Tell me, how was it? Did you have fun? Did you get to bed on time? Did you eat breakfast this morning? How was school today? Oh, it’s so good to be back,” she said, pulling him in for another brief hug.

“Yes, we had fun. I was in bed on time. Kara made pancakes. School was fine,” Carter said, counting off her questions on his fingers.

“Kara made--you cook?” She said, a bit surprised. She hadn’t pegged her for the cooking type.

Kara shrugged. “A little. Carter…helped.”

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**Saturday Morning**

Whoever was at Kara’s door knocked yet again. “I’m coming!” she called. Looking through the door just before she opened it, she groaned inwardly. _Lucy!_ An apology was on the tip of her tongue, but Lucy started talking as soon as the door was opened.

“Hey, are you ready for dress shopping? I texted you like ten times and then I decided I would just come on over.”

“Yeah, sorry. I was in the shower. I’ll be ready in just a second,” Kara said, opening the door a little wider. “Why don’t you come in? I just need to make a phone call.”

“You totally forgot about me, didn’t you?” Lucy guessed.

“Yes, and I’m sorry, but--“

“And then you made plans for today,” she continued.

“Yes, but it’ll only take a second to postpone them,” Kara said, already pulling out her phone. “It’s no big-“

“Who did you make plans with?”

Kara sighed. “Cat.”

Lucy grinned. “I’ll see myself out.”

“Lucy! It’s fine! I made plans with you _before_ I asked Cat to lunch—“

“ _You_  asked _her_? Even better!” Lucy said, hand on the doorknob. “I will see you here, at 3:00.”

“If you say so,” Kara replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was short, but I'll try to make the next one longer. Please give constructive criticism!   
> Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all. Until next time!


	8. Banging (but not bANGING[yet])

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat and Kara go to lunch and some stuff happens. I don't remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm actually not Where_is_my_10_15, though she is here, lecturing me on how to properly type her name. It's the sister here, weeping_angel75. I'm your host today, because I told my sister I would post this last night when she went to bed and then forgot. She said to tell you guys that she meant to post this on Wednesday, but she didn't cause she sucks. Love you, sis. So....here's the chapter. Enjoy and give her kudos and comments, cause she's a sad puppy who needs love and reassuring.

**Saturday Afternoon**

Kara looked at her phone right before she walked into the restaurant Cat had suggested, Pita Pit. 12:40. She was five minutes early, so she would have time to look at the menu—she had never been here before.

Alas, Cat was already sitting at a table with her purse, waiting for her. She looked up at the sound of the slightly squeaky door, and stood up when she saw Kara come in. Kara rushed over excitedly, not quite sure how to greet her. (Kara’s instinct was to hug, but although Cat seemed touchy enough, especially with Carter, she wasn’t sure if she was much of a hugger.) She settled on an over-eager wave.

“Hi!”

“Hey, how are you?” Cat asked.

Kara shrugged. “Good as ever. How are you?”

“I’m good. Are you ready to order?”

“Well here’s the thing,” said Kara, “I’ve never actually been here. Is it like Subway, or…?”

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“Agent Danvers,” J’onn greeted her with a nod when she entered. “Where’s Supergirl?”

“She has a date, I think?” Alex said.  “She’s at lunch with a friend and she asked me if we could handle everything without her this afternoon.

“Well, this is a bit more than bank robbery.”

“She told me that ‘if the sky starts falling from the heavens’ I should give Superman a call,” she said. “Anyway, what are we dealing with?”

Hank’s frown deepened. “General Lane is on his way.”

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“Honestly, Kara, you should hear him. He’s _such_ a Texan. He says ‘What in Tarnation’ at least once a day. I didn’t even know people said that.”

“Oh my R-gosh,” Kara said, “last week at game night we were playing Taboo, and Alex had to get me to say the word ‘Cowboy,’ so of course her first instinct was to say ‘What in tarnation’ with the most Southern accent. We ran out of our time limit because we just couldn’t stop laughing.”

“Carter loves that game!”

“You should definitely come to our game night sometime!” Kara said. “We play that almost every week.”

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“Director Henshaw,” Samuel greeted Hank with disdain.

“General Lane. What can I do for Army intelligence?” Hank asked respectfully.

“I need you to approve an immediate transfer. A member of your field unit to my command.”

“Really, and who would that be?”

“The lady in red.”

“Technically, Supergirl doesn’t work for this organization,” said Alex.

“If I had my way, no one would,” said General Lame (I mean…Lane). “Your covert operations could be handled effectively with my special forces, and without _foreign_ assistance.”

“Why do you want her?” asked Alex.

“We’ve been developing something. An anti-insurgent combat device, project codenamed RT. I need her help testing it for me.”

“She has no choice,” said a voice behind him. A short, official looking woman stepped forward. “We have an executive order forcing her to comply.”

“My legal attaché, Major Tatum,” ~~Sammy Boy~~  General Lane introduced her. Hank took the folder from her, looking over it. “It’s been signed by the president. You can take it up with her if you like.”

“Unless she’s not up to it,” said Major Tatum.

“Supergirl doesn’t have to do this,” said Alex.

“I agree with Agent Danvers,” said Hank. “What is she supposed to do?”

“Fight my robot,” said Samma-Lamma-Ding-Dong.

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Kara’s phone buzzed again, the third time.

“Do you need to look at that?” asked Cat.

“What? Oh, no. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Kara paused long enough that Cat wasn’t sure. “Go ahead.”

Kara conceded, picking up her phone to look at her messages.

**Alex:  
** _hey, J’onn wants you here asap_

_he also wants to know who you’re on a date with. can I tell him?_

_im telling him_

Kara opened her mouth defiantly at her texts. Cat feigned disinterest, chewing her pita delicately.

**Kara:  
** _Dang it Alex! You can’t do that!_

**Alex:  
** _im kidding. chill_

_are you even on a date???_

**Kara:  
** _I’m not sure…_

_I asked her to lunch but idk if it’s a date?_

_She likes girls. I know she likes girls. I’m pretty sure she knows I like girls. I know she knows I like girls but as far as I know she doesn’t know that I know that she likes girls._

_Also she’s really cute and like, way outta my league_

**Alex:  
** _shes not out of your league_

_you’re supergirl dammit_

_so this probably isn’t a date. next time you ask her out, you should just specify that it is._

**Kara:  
** _Thanks. You’re the best!!!_ _J <3_

**Alex:  
** _damn right I am_

_gotta go. be here when you can_

Kara smiled at her phone.

“Who was that?” asked Cat, bringing Kara back to reality.

“My sister Alex.”

“Was it important? Do you need to go?”

“Yes, but no. She just wants me to drop by the…bureau. She works for the FBI.” Kara nodded, as if affirming herself.

“She majored in Biochemistry, and she works for the FBI?”

“She works in the science division,” Kara explained. “But she’s also a field agent,” she added, realizing that Cat was bound to see her on the job at some point. “But sometimes she gets transferred to other things, like the Secret Service or the CIA,” she said, accounting for all possibilities. “One time she even filled in for a Health Inspector. She’s a Jack of All Trades…of sorts.”

Cat nodded thoughtfully, with her professional ‘I believe you’ reporter poker face on. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed that. Sorry Carter wasn't in the chappie, he was too busy shipping SuperCat. Like me, tbh. Anyway, this has been your daily (weekly? How often DOES she update this? Ever?) dose of TMSIDK. Have a lovely evening, everyone. Godspeed, and God bless America.


	9. Guitar Hero and a Day Without a Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is weakened after fighting the Red Tornado, but when an earthquake hits National City, she has no plans on letting Carter get hurt on her watch, powers or no powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I'm not dead! I know it's been four months since I've updated, and that's because I'm the exact kind of author I hate and I have a procrastination issue. I'm not gonna write a long apology because nobody wants a long AN and I don't even know if anyone still cares about this fic. I'm sorry, y'all. To recap, the last time we saw these canon characters in this non-canon universe, Carter and Kara were great friends, Cat and Kara went to lunch and Kara didn't know if it was a date or not, and Kara was asked to fight Sammy Lane's robot. Now, Enjoy.

**Tuesday**

“Honestly, Kitty, I can’t believe you haven’t managed to procure a larger office,” Cat’s mother droned on, having been criticizing everything from Cat’s office space to her personal life for the past half hour. “And the walls are so thin. Do you even get any work done with all the chit chat and noise?”

_I would be able to if you would let me get on with it,_ Cat thought, but she held her tongue. “As a matter of fact, mother, my colleague Frank—that’s the one I mentioned on the phone—is moving to Oregon, and I’m supposed to move into his office next week.

“A promotion?” Katherine put the framed photo she was holding back on Cat’s desk. “Finally.”

“Well, no, someone from editing is actually going to take on most of his responsibilities, but it’s still promising that I was chosen to take his-“

“Oh, I see,” Katherine said, disappointed as always. “Well, I suppose not everyone can climb the ladder as fast as I did. Perhaps that level of charm and talent skips as generation. Anyway, you know I’m in town for this book tour; have you read my book yet? Perhaps you’ll give it a listen when it comes out in audio form.”

Both women turned around when they heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” Cat said, grateful for something to put a pause to her mother’s ceaseless chatter. The door opened slowly and Kara stepped in.

“Hi!” she said with a smile at both women, holding out a paper bag labeled ‘ _Jenny G’s’_ and a Styrofoam cup. “I brought you lunch. I thought with all the hustle and bustle over Supergirl’s fight with the red thing you might forget to eat, and-“

“Kara!” Cat exclaimed with a bright smile that quickly turned apologetic. “I am so sorry, I absolutely forgot that I was supposed to meet with you today to talk about that _thing._ ”

Kara’s eyes went wide with worry as she tried to remember. “What thi-“

“Who is this?” Katherine asked in a bored tone, crossing her arms.

“Of course,” Kara said. She shifted her bags so she could extend a hand. “Kara Danvers. I met Cat a few weeks ago at the li-“

“Mother, this is my friend Kara,” Cat cut in. “She works in the publishing department, and it just totally slipped my mind that I was supposed to meet with her today to talk over a project she’s working on. You see, Kara had this brilliant idea for a news app that will revolutionize the way our content gets to the people, but she wanted my help with it. Trouble is, she’s on a deadline, so I really must go. So good to see you mother. Perhaps another time?” she finished over her shoulder, manhandling a flabbergasted Kara through the door and leaving a petulant Katherine Grant in her wake.

Once out the door, Cat didn’t stop moving or let go of Kara’s arm until they were in the elevator, at which point she let out a sigh and slumped against the wall.

“Sorry about that,” she said, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. “My mother was…getting on my nerves. I saw an out; I took it.”

“Oh, of course,” Kara responded. She pressed the button for the ground floor. “No problem. Happy to help. My foster Mom was always berating my sister Alex when we were kids, and Alex would always—“ Kara broke off with a high-pitched sneeze.

“Bless you,” Cat said.

“Thank you, I’ve been—“ Kara sneezed again into her arm, and again.

“You alright?” Cat asked, offering a tissue from her purse.

Kara accepted it gratefully. “Yeah, I’ve just been sneezing all day. There was a kid on the bus this morning with a runny nose.”

“You took the bus? I thought you walked to work.”

“Well, usually I do, but today I took the bus because, um…because I slept at my sister’s house! Yeah, I spent the night at Alex’s apartment because it was movie night, so then this morning I had a longer way to go and I just felt like taking the bus.”

The elevator doors slid open, and the two women stepped out into the lobby.

“So, how long is your mother in town?” Kara asked as they headed for the door.

“Too long,” Cat replied. “But just a couple of days, I think. She’s got this silly little book—she didn’t even write it, just edited it—and so she’s on a book tour and expects me to drop everything and spend time with her. She didn’t even read the article I wrote on Supergirl. Her _assistant_ called to congratulate me on my first ever award, and not on my mother’s behalf, just personally because we met a few times- but that’s plenty about me. How, um, how was your weekend?”

Kara frowned, thinking about the weekend she’d had: fighting the red tornado, losing her powers, spending two days being poked and prodded at the DEO with no results. “It was pretty uneventful,” she said. They had reached the lobby door. “So where are you headed?”

“Well, assuming my mother is still in my office, I’ll probably eat my lunch, which I really appreciate, in the park. Care to join me?”

“I can’t,” Kara said, frowning. “I told Winn I’d only be gone for a little while to get lunch and bring you something and I have to go relieve him. Sorry.”

“No problem,” Cat said with a smile. “See you soon?”

“Yes! I would love to see you again,” Kara agreed, remembering what Alex had told her. ”And maybe next time on a… on a d-day where we’re less busy?”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

“ _So how are you feeling?”_ Alex asked over the phone while Kara walked back to work.

“I guess I feel fine. I think I have a cold,” Kara said, punctuating it with a sniff.

_“Yeah, you sound a little stuffy.”_

“I don’t know, everything’s just so achy. Like, I’m constantly moving around and walking and shelving books and climbing ladders every day, but now I can actually feel the wear and tear on my energy throughout the day, which I haven’t felt since I was a teenager. It’s just so weird.”

“ _So…did you ask her out?”_

“Did I ask who out?”

_“You_ know _who, Kara,”_ Alex said, exasperated. “ _Did you ask Cat out yet?”_

Kara sighed. “No. I was going to, I was! But then her mom was there. It was weird. They were talking before I got there and apparently Cat’s mom was being really mean and so the second I got there Cat made up this story about how I was her co-worker and we needed to leave to work on some project and then she, like, whisked me out the door and into the elevator.”

_“And yet, while traveling like thirty floors-“_

“Twenty-three,” Kara interjected.

_“And yet,”_ Alex insisted, _“while traveling down twenty-four floors, there was no point at which you could have asked her?”_

“Twenty-three.  I had planned the whole thing out in my head, but then the whole dynamic changed and I wasn’t prepared for it. I tried, though! I started to ask her if we could go on an actual date, but I…guess I chickened out.”

_“So not only have you got no powers, you’ve also got no game. Good to know.”_

“Yeah, tell me again how brave you were about asking Lucy out?”

The line went silent.

“That’s what I thought,” Kara said. “I gotta go. I’m almost there. Love you, bye.”

_“Love you too.”_

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

Kara was re-shelving books when Carter arrived that afternoon, standing on the third step of a metal ladder that she stood on almost every day but acutely aware of both the law of gravity and the wobbling of the ladder.

“Hey Kara,” Carter said when he found her, containing his excitement at seeing her in the hushed tones required to avoid a judgmental look from Winn, Kara, or just a random passerby.

“Hi, Carter,” Kara replied in kind. “Tell me something I don’t know?”

“Aerosmith earned more money from Guitar Hero than any of their albums.”

“Dang,” Kara said, making a mental note to tell Alex, who happened to be a beast at Guitar Hero. She lowered herself to the floor to give him a hug. “How’s the schooling?”

 “Same old, same old,” he said. “How’s my mom?” he asked with a sly smile.

Kara frowned. “How’d you know I went to see her?”

“She texted me,” he said. “I asked her during lunch if Grandma was as atrocious as usual and she told me that she wasn’t atrocious but it didn’t matter because you rescued her.”

Kara smiled. “I brought her lunch and she made up an excuse about needing to meet with me. Just how atrocious is your Grandmother?”

Carter didn’t answer, because the next thing they felt was the ground shaking beneath their feet, and then it was like everything happened at once. With the bookshelves wobbling, there was nothing to brace themselves on as Kara and Carter both fell to the ground. Kara managed to sit up in time to see the ladder shaking violently—right next to Carter. Acting on instinct, Kara pushed herself forward and thrust her arm in front of it just as the ladder toppled over. Carter watched, wide-eyed, as it crashed into her forearm and fell to the ground beside him. Kara cried out in pain. Pulling her arm into her chest with her other hand wrapped around it, she leaned forward, rocking back and forth with shallow breaths.

“Oh my God, Kara!” Carter said, frantic. “Are you okay?”

The shaking continued while Kara grunted in pain, but she nodded. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” Realizing their surroundings, Kara used her left hand and pushed herself to her feet. “Come on,” she said. “We need to get away from the shelves.” Carter nodded and followed her. The shaking came to a halt after another moment and Kara broke into a run. “Go to the lobby and stay there!” she told him, moving through the library to check for other people, especially children. Instead, she found Winn.

“I got everyone to the lobby,” he said. “They’re fine.” She nodded and went back to the front, still clutching her arm.

“Kara, is your arm okay?” Carter asked when Kara and Winn came over and sat next to him. There were only a few other people in the building, and they seemed mostly unhurt. Most of them were on their phones, probably calling family members to make sure everyone was okay.

Kara shook her head. “I think it’s broken,” she said.

Carter pulled out his phone. “I’m gonna call 911.”

“No, don’t.” Kara looked through the glass doors at the people running around and the only building she could see, which appeared to have partially collapsed. “The whole of National City just called 911. Just…call your mom.”

Carter nodded, bringing his hand up to rub his head.

“Did you hit your head?” Kara demanded.

“I’m fine. I just hit it on a shelf when I fell down.”

“Are you sure? No blurred vision? Nothing else weird? You know your mom will kill me if you have a concussion.”

“My Mom will _thank_ you for saving my life,” Carter said, glancing pointedly at her arm as he dialed Cat. She picked up immediately.

“I didn’t save your life,” Kara argued.

_”Carter! Are you okay?”_ Cat asked at the same time.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks to Kara. You?”

_“Oh God, is Kara okay?”_

“Yeah, she…a ladder was gonna fall on me and she saved me. The ladder hit her arm.”

While Cat helicopter-parented in his ear, Carter watched Winn take off his cardigan and wrap Kara’s arm with it in a makeshift sling.

He brushed her hair out of the way so he could tie it behind her neck. “Thank you, Winn,” she said.

“Yeah, of course, no problem.”

“Yeah, here she is,” Carter said into the phone. He held it out to Kara. “It’s for you.”

Kara took the phone and brought it to her ear. “Hello?” she said, trying not to sound like she was in pain.

“ _Kara!”_ Kara winced as Cat yelled in her ear. _“Is everything okay? Are you alright? Is the building intact? Is Carter as okay as he says he is?”_

“Yes. Um, the building is fine as far as we can tell. Some of the bookshelves have been damaged. We’ll have to repair them so they can’t fall on people. Carter’s okay. He hit his head on a bookshelf, but I checked him out as best I could and he seems fine.”

_“Are_ you _okay?”_ Cat asked.

“Oh, yeah, I’m great,” Kara said. “Really, though, I’m fine.”

_“Carter said you hurt your arm.”_

“It’s, really it’s no big deal. I’ve had worse.” (That was only sort of a lie. She had been stabbed with a Kryptonite knife, which had to be worse than a broken arm. The difference was that she healed from the stab wound within an hour of the knife being removed, and there was no telling how long it would be until her healing powers kicked back in.) “But what about you? Is everything okay there?”

_“Seems to be. But our website is down the drain. Right now they’re working on getting it back online and until they can, it’s kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation. I don’t know how long I’m gonna be…”_ Cat trailed off. She wasn’t sure what to do about Carter.

“Well, I don’t know how long that’ll take, but we’re probably going to stay put for now. There’s bound to be aftershocks, and it’s probably chaos outside.” Kara looked wistfully out at the cracked pavement and all the empty cars. “It’s not like there’s anything we can do. Anyway, I’m happy to keep Carter on a three –foot leash until you’re ready to get him.”

Cat paused. _“Thank you, Kara,”_ she said after moment. _“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”_

“Anytime.”

~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~BrOTP~

When Cat arrived to relieve Kara from watching Carter, they had long been the only two people in the building, and Kara’s stash of snacks had almost been depleted. They were sitting in the lobby a safe distance from the windows, and Kara was trying to teach Carter to play Concentration with only one hand when the door swung open. Cat rushed to Carter, pulling him up off the ground into a tight hug. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine,” he said, returning the hug with equal strength.

When she relinquished him she turned to Kara. Seeing her arm for the first time, Cat let out a gasp, eyes widening. “Kara, you-your arm!”

“I told you, Mom,” Carter said before Kara could speak, “This huge ladder almost fell on me and Kara went like, bam!” he explained, thrusting his arm out like he was Kara to demonstrate. “And saved my life.”

“I didn’t save his _life,_ ” Kara began, but she was interrupted as Cat enveloped her in a strong hug.

“Thank you,” Cat whispered.

Kara, in her powerless state, relished the chance to squeeze Cat as hard as she wanted to.

“Carter, where’s your stuff?” Cat asked when they had separated.

“In the back,” Carter said, pointing.

As the two of them disappeared to the back of the library, Kara gathered her own things together. She had just picked up her phone when the ground began, again, to shake. Kara’s phone hit the floor as she braced herself against the desk. Her head snapped up when she heard a crash behind her, coming from the back of the library. The sound a bookshelf would make if it fell over.

“Cat?” she tried to yell, but her voice was drowned out by the rumbling. The shaking was already slowing down as she ran to find them, and it stopped after a couple seconds, just as she reached the fallen shelf. “Cat?” she tried again, breathing hard. _“Carter?”_

“We’re here,” Cat said behind her.

Kara whipped around, letting out a sigh when she saw them.

“Sorry,” Carter said. “We couldn’t hear you at first and then we were out of breath and—sorry, I guess we scared you. You got here awfully fast.“

Kara glanced down at her right hand, clenched into a fist, and then back to Carter. “No, yeah, it’s fine. I guess it was just…” subtly, she tensed the muscles in her right arm. No pain. “…just adrenaline,” she finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! There were a few parts of this chapter that felt a little off to me, so if anything doesn't quite make sense, or if you notice any glaring errors or inconsistencies, please let me know. Also let me know if there's anything you expect/hope to see in this fic. I only have a vague general direction I'm going here, so any and all suggestion is appreciated.  
> Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love y'all. Adieu.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was the setup, but it will get more interesting. I have the first few chapters outlined, but this is very much going to be a see-where-the-story-takes-me fic. I will update ASAP. Thank you all for reading. Shoutout to weeping_angel75, my sister and beta, for finding and correcting like six typos. Go check out her account for some Kalex and SuperCat fics!
> 
> Kudos are good, comments are great, and I love you all! Until next time!


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